Ohtani homers again, Roberts says hot streak may be coming

CHICAGO >> He got the ball back without any negotiating this time.

Shohei Ohtani's first home run as a Dodger in Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium set off a brief controversy over how the Dodgers retrieved the souvenir ball for Ohtani.

His second home run as a Dodger in the fifth inning on Friday afternoon landed in the Budweiser porch just below the scoreboard down the right field line — and came right back, tossed onto the field as is the tradition with home runs by opposing players at Wrigley Field.

“It's pretty impressive for him to be able to ride that ball out down below the zone,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the first-pitch changeup from Kyle Hendricks. “(Cody) Bellinger does that really well, too. So guys that can hit the fastball and something that's offspeed, to still ride it out and elevate it, it's hard to do. It takes a special athlete.”

Ohtani's special qualities are well-established but it took time for him to get his first home runs as a Dodger — something that he acknowledged had given him some anxiety. Roberts said he could “absolutely” see the relief in Ohtani's eyes when he homered Wednesday.

If relief can be measured in exit velocity, it was evident Friday. Four of the five balls Ohtani put in play against the Cubs left his bat at 99 mph or higher — a double (106.1), his home run (105.2) and two fly outs (110.2 and 99.2).

“He's on the fastball, breaking balls, he's taking balls down below the zone, which early on he was swinging at those,” Roberts said. “I think right now the timing, his mechanics, (he's) seeing the baseball really well.”

The result could be another first for Ohtani in Dodger blue — a hot streak.

“I think so. I really do,” Roberts said. “Early on, he wasn't synced up with his swing and mechanics and timing . ... If he's right, obviously we know how special he is. And today, another homer, a double and then just missed another homer. So I do think that hot streak is on the come.”

Heyward's back

Despite going on the injured list with a back strain, Jason Heyward made the trip to Chicago with the team and visited the Jason Heyward Baseball Academy on Friday. Heyward took some teammates to visit the community center-type facility he established while playing for the Cubs.

“Every time I go around that place, it's nothing but good vibes,” he said.

Heyward said his back is recovering “nicely” though he doesn't know when he will be ready to play again.

The problem started during the Freeway Series game in Anaheim, when the Dodgers had a long stretch between the end of their hitters' meeting and the start of batting practice.

“So we were just sitting down for that whole time. I think that down time combined with the travel we'd been doing, the time zones, I didn't play the day before ... it stiffened up,” Heyward said.

“That's how strains go. I was able to play, start Opening Day and whatnot. I feel like the start against Lance (Lynn) with St. Louis I was starting to feel a lot better that night then being down against a lefty the next day it stiffened up. That's when I was, okay, part of my role is to be a bench guy, come off the bench at the right moment. I need to be healthy enough to do that. Let's take the time to get it right.”

Tokyo time

Japanese baseball commissioner Sadayuki Sakakibara said this week that Major League Baseball has agreed to play two games in Tokyo next March 19 and 20. Sakakibara said he met with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred during the Seoul Series in South Korea featuring the Dodgers and San Diego Padres.

No teams have been announced as participants, but the Dodgers — featuring two-way star Ohtani and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto — are expected to be one of the two. The Chicago Cubs — also featuring a pair of Japanese players, Seiya Suzuki and Shota Imanaga — are a good bet to join them.

Also

Right-hander Walker Buehler is scheduled to make his second start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday. He threw 56 pitches in 3 2/3 innings in his first start and is expected to throw about 65 to 70 pitches today . ... Right-hander Nabil Crismatt cleared waivers and was assigned to OKC. Crismatt was designated for assignment earlier this week.